The Peach Truck

I’m not really sure what to say…or do…or think. I had all good intentions of posting a light and airy conversation and some pretty pictures and a happy, happy southern summer recipe featuring this lovely bag of Pearson Farms Georgia Peaches from The Peach Truck stand at the downtown Nashville Farmer’s Market.

The second thing to interrupt my good intentions was Trump’s decision this afternoon to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord. Anger, incredulity and sadness like a wave swept over my good intentions.

My grandmother might have said something about the pathway to hell being paved with good intentions. Enough said. So I shall continue with my post taking all of today’s information and upsets into consideration…

Buy some peaches when you see them…make a cobbler, or ice cream, maybe a peach tart, or eat in hand letting the juice run down your arm…don’t wait….the times are a’changin. Today’s peaches might be a thing of future stories and memories to savor.

Bag ripened peaches….peeled and sliced….

….butter and batter on the bottom of my Lodge Cast Iron double handled skillet…topped with sliced peaches and brown sugar.

Baked until hot and caramelized on top….

….with a scoop of vanilla. A bite of goodness in this uncertain world.

Drop and email, post card or letter to your elected officials letting them know you support the Paris Climate Accord and your local fruit growers who are affected every day by our changing weather.

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There are some fruits in particular that have an inner glow. Light does not shine on them, but come from within. Summer peaches are one such fruit. They are ageless, timeless and have an art-historical romance that is inherent.

I made my weekly pilgrimage to the Downtown Nashville Farmer’s Market to buy a paper sack of peaches from “The Peach Truck”. This is a weekly affair as long as they are on offer. I enjoy creating simple, delicious recipes using these peaches that do not cover up the natural flavors.

This is how it easy it is to make my “My-Oh-My A Little Peach Pie”. The ingredients are Peaches, sugar, frozen puff pastry and fresh lavender flowers.

Frozen puff pastry is readily available in most supermarkets. Look for brands that use real butter such as Dufour. I keep a box of this in my freezer at all times. Just follow the package directions and you can’t go wrong.

Do you peel ripe peaches? I do not unless the peel is very tough. In this case the lightly fuzzy peel was very soft and edible.

Lift edges of parchment paper and place dough on a baking sheet & sprinkle surface with 2 Tbsp of the white lemon sugar.

Arrange peach slices on top of dough leaving a 1 1/2 to 2 inch border uncovered. Sprinkle peaches with Muscovado sugar and half the lavender flowers.

Arrange scrap strips of puff pastry dough over top of peaches and fold bottom edges of dough up and over the edges of the filling. Sprinkle the dough with the remaining white lemons sugar and lavender flowers.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until puff pastry dough is golden brown and crispy. Remove pie from oven and cool on a rack for a bit before serving. Wonderful warm with a scoop of ice cream or as is which is my favorite way to enjoy this seasonal dessert.

For Lemon Sugar to use in this or other desserts: add fresh lemon zest to white sugar and stir….use in your desserts to brighten up the flavors.

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This past week has been busy in a fun way. Photo shoots both editorial and commercial, celebrations of a new cookbook release that I worked on, and a weekend full of the World Cup and a lazy baking Saturday. The other fun thing for me is that as of today I am adding a “printable recipe” at the end of all my posts! This will make it easier for you to try out some of the offerings from Food on Fifth.

I do think I have a case of “peach madness” this summer. I blame this totally on the arrival of “The Peach Truck” in Nashville from Georgia with bags and bags full of delicious peaches. I eat them rinsed, fuzz and all, on cereal, on toast. I have made frozen yogurt, pies and more recently this upside down cake using peaches and olive oil along with a flour I ran across in the grocery store a few days ago…Domata Gluten Free Recipe Ready Flour.

I realize that everyone knows about Georgia Peaches, but are you aware there is a thriving olive oil business down in Lakeland, Georgia…acres and acres of olive trees? I didn’t until I was given a bottle by cookbook author, Matt Moore, while working on a photo shoot with him. Amazingly good and perfect for my cake. A belated thanks Matt.

Whether testing recipes for clients or cooking at home I always gather and measure all my ingredients before I start just to make sure I have everything I need. I find it very annoying to get to the middle of a recipe and realize I am short an egg or do not have enough milk. Very annoying.

I used a fluted pan just because I think it is pretty.

I let this cake cool for about 30 minutes before turning it out onto a plate.

Flipped out onto a plate & ready for a powder sugar dusting. Love the color of those peaches!

So pretty and moist, with an almost pudding-like texture and nice crispy edges. Not too sweet (you know I do not like overly sweet desserts) with the flavor of the peaches coming through strong.

Of course we ate a slice while the cake was still warm on Saturday, but the next day, chilled, it was still as good…in fact so good that my friend Terry M. ate 2 pieces while we worked the Sunday NYTimes Crossword puzzle! Yep, that good.

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A few weeks ago I was rummaging around in an antique mall and found an old recipe box (see below) with each recipe carefully written out in old-fashioned beautiful “Cursive”. As you can see the box has been mended with tape multiple times and bears all the tell-tale signs of being much used. I fell in love with it.

Don’t you think it is beautifully interesting? Whose was it? Why does some daughter or son not have it in their kitchen right now? Whoever you are, or were, your recipe box is going to be well taken care of.

As I was looking through the recipes I noticed something interesting when it came to the desserts…cakes, pies, puddings. They all call for about half as much sugar as what I am used to seeing in newer recipes. Perhaps this was just particular to the owner of this box, perhaps someone in the family needed to watch their sugar intake, or maybe these dessert recipes are from a time where our palates had not become so used to “sugar overload”? I wanted to try this recipe for “Peach Pie (Fresh)” because it just sounded so simple and “fresh”.

1/2 cup raw sugar or white sugar + extra for dusting on top of the finished pie

1 pie crust for a double crust pie – 1 to line the pan + 1 for the lattice top (I used a wonderful slightly sweet pie dough recipe based on one found in Alisa Huntsman’s cookbook “Desserts from the Famous Loveless Cafe”(see end of blog for directions for this wonderful crust which I highly recommend.) If you do not “make pie crusts” then use a store-bought one dusted with a bit of powdered sugar.

Before we make the pie I am going to show you the easiest way in the world to peel a peach……

Cut an “X” in the bottom of each peach.Gently drop peaches into softly boiling water.Remove peaches from simmering water after about 2 minutes & quickly plunge into ice water.Using your fingers gently peel back peach skin from the bottom of each peach where you made the “X”. The skin will slip right off with just a bit of coaxing.

Now we will make our basic lattice topped “Peach Pie (Fresh)”.

1. Roll out and fit one of the pie crusts into the bottom of 8 or 9 inch regular pie pan somewhat “fluting” the sides if you like. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Cut peaches into wedges away from the pit & place in a bowl. You should about 6 cups of cut-up peaches for this pie. Add 1/ 2 cup white granulated sugar as the recipe calls for or raw sugar if you prefer. Toss the peaches & sugar together.

3. Fill bottom pie crust with sugared peaches & their juice.

4. Roll out 2nd/top crust to make the lattice. Cut into random strips with a sharp knife. Place the strips over the top of the peaches weaving them over and under each other in opposite directions. I do not even try to make my “lattice” tops perfect but a bit more artful and random which I think is prettier. As you may have guessed I am not a lover of perfection, just things that are perfectly, beautifully not perfect.

5. Tuck ends of lattice strips under the bottom crust edge and re-flute.

6. Place the uncooked pie on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Dust with some additional sugar if desired, pop in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 and cook for another 30 minutes or until the peaches are hot and bubbly and the crust is golden brown and crispy. Serve warm as is or with a scoop of ice cream.

Okay, now let me tell you a couple of things about this recipe. It was indeed not icky sweet nor “gloopy” as fruit pies can sometimes turn out with too much cornstarch. The bottom crust was not soggy, the top crust was flakey and over all this pie tasted like I think a peach pie should taste. This is how a fruit pie should taste…like the ripe fruit used complementing a flakey crust & just enough sugar to call it dessert. No soggy crust or gloopy-ness!

Here are a few other variations on this peach pie recipe I made with the extra dough…

“A Wee Fresh Peach & Blueberry Pie”

Made the same way with the addition of fresh blueberries & a cookie cutter cut out crust top in a little 6″ pie pan.

2. Cut 1 1/2 stick of butter into small cubes & freeze for 5 minutes. Then sprinkle over the flour-sugar mixture & pulse a few times to mix in.

3. To the processor add 3 cold egg yolks & pulse again 3 or 4 times to blend somewhat.

4. To bring it all together drizzle 1/4 to 1/2 cup cold buttermilk or regular milk over the flour mixture through the feed tube of the processor until a dough ball begins to form. Remove dough & form into 4 dough balls flattened. Wrap each one with plastic & chill for 10 minutes before rolling out to make your pie crust.

Oh no!!!! we are finished yet…here’s a few tips for fitting your wonderful crust into your pie pan. Roll it, fold it in half…